Facing a mandatory life sentence, Neil Pal walked out of the courtroom Thursday the same way he walked in, stone-faced, cold and emotionless. A jury convicted the 23-year-old Scranton man of first-degree murder as an accomplice and related conspiracy charge for his role in the murder of Frank Bonacci last summer.

In the eighth day of the homicide trial, jurors deliberated for just under an hour and a half before reaching the guilty verdict. The first-degree charge will mean a mandatory life sentence, but Mr. Pal will be sentenced on the conspiracy charge at a later date.

Mr. Pal was one of two charged in the fatal shooting. Jason Dominick, 24, was charged as the shooter and convicted of third-degree murder and conspiracy last month. Mr. Dominick’s sentencing date has not been set.

Testifying Thursday morning before the trial concluded, Mr. Pal agreed that he lied to Mr. Bonacci the morning of July 20, following an all-night drinking party at his Linden Street home.

He told Mr. Bonacci he was going to give him and Mr. Dominick a ride home. Instead, Mr. Pal drove toward the step falls area off Ridge Row in Scranton, where prosecutors assert Mr. Dominick shot and killed Mr. Bonacci, whom Mr. Dominick considered a romantic rival. Mr. Pal and Mr. Dominick then forced Mr. Bonacci’s Jeep, with the Dunmore man’s body still inside, over a ravine. It sat there for the next seven days.

Mr. Bonacci was initially reported as a missing person and a massive search effort sprung up in the community until a friend found his vehicle and body on July 27. Police arrested Mr. Pal and Mr. Dominick days later.

The moment Judge Terrence Nealon read the first “guilty” in the courtroom, about two dozen of Mr. Bonacci’s family members and supporters hugged, cried and whispered “yes” and “finally” to each other.

First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico said the family was satisfied with the verdict, particularly in light of Mr. Pal’s testimony, which concluded a few hours before deliberation began.

“I think the thing that was probably the most palpable was the lack of emotion in his body language and voice as he spoke,” Mr. Talerico said.

He said Mr. Pal’s words, texts and actions following the killing were cruel, giving insight into Mr. Pal’s mind before and after Mr. Bonacci’s death. Mr. Pal told members of the Bonacci family to call anytime, feigning no knowledge of the young man’s location and murder. He joked with friends and flirted with a waitress hours after the fatal shooting.

“It speaks to the mind and the heart and the soul of the person who does those things,” Mr. Talerico said. “It’s troubling.”

On the stand Thursday, Mr. Pal said it was his decision to go to the step falls area after Mr. Dominick told him that he intended to fight Mr. Bonacci. As he testified, Mr. Pal spoke in an even-toned voice, often answering with only one or two words.

He addressed questions about a .38-caliber revolver handgun that he received from Cameron Kashmer. Prosecutors believe it was used in the murder but was never recovered. Mr. Kashmer testified that he gave it to Mr. Pal to pay a debt. Mr. Pal said he sold it to a man, who he knew only by a nickname, well before Mr. Bonacci was killed.

He never mentioned his possession of that revolver during interviews until he was confronted with information Mr. Kashmer gave to police.

At least four times during his testimony, Mr. Pal disputed the accuracy of police reports recounting his interviews.

Nowhere in those reports was any mention that Mr. Pal was waiting for Mr. Dominick to turn himself in, Mr. Talerico pointed out. Mr. Pal testified Wednesday that he kept the secret, waiting for Mr. Dominick to come clean on his own.

“The first time you ever said that, since you were arrested, in public, was here (Wednesday),” Mr. Talerico said.

During his closing arguments, Mr. Talerico said through Mr. Pal’s own admission — isolating Mr. Bonacci and driving to the murder — he was guilty of third-degree murder, but asked the jury to find the Scranton man guilty of first-degree charges.

“Neil Pal has demonstrated who he is,” Mr. Talerico said. “He’s a conspirator and an accomplice and he’s responsible not for the manslaughter of Frank Bonacci, but for the murder of Frank Bonacci.”

Defense attorney Paul Walker disagreed, calling Mr. Pal the “peacemaker” of his group of friends, called on to resolve issues. He said it was “beyond belief” that Mr. Dominick’s home had not been searched for the murder weapon and again disputed ballistics evidence, which he maintained did not prove any real connection between the bullet taken from Mr. Bonacci and others taken from Mr. Pal’s garage.

He said Mr. Pal’s actions following the killing wouldn’t have changed what happened. Mr. Walker said. Mr. Pal’s actions also didn’t change the fact that he did not know what Mr. Dominick planned that morning.

“There is not one shred of evidence, not one shred of credible evidence, that showed he knew Mr. Bonacci was going to get shot that morning,” Mr. Walker said.

After the trial concluded, defense attorney Matt Comerford expressed disappointment in the verdict and said they plan to appeal.

He believed Mr. Pal’s acknowledgment that he covered up the killing was ultimately his downfall with jurors, but added pretrial publicity may have established some opinions.

“I think they knew what they were going to do,” Mr. Comerford said about the jury.

The verdict is the best case scenario, given the circumstances, Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano said after the trial.

“The verdict doesn’t bring Frankie back,” he said. “The next best thing that can be done is to bring justice to the family.”

Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.

Think you have the cutest pet in NEPA? Share a photo of your furry companion and you could win prizes from our sponsors! Deadline to submit an entry is March 19, and voting will take place from March 20-March 31.